ALL NOVEL
Chapter 139
The car arrived at the entrance of the residential complex. Normally, residents who drove would go directly to the underground parking garage and take the elevator home from there.
Lu Lingchuan hesitated for a few seconds as he drove around the entrance, then decided to park in a nearby spot.
He got out of the car, closed the door, and walked towards the main gate of the complex.
As he entered the lobby, the security guard on duty recognized him as a resident and swiped him in with the access card.
Lu Lingchuan entered the complex, his feet crunching on the gravel path as he walked forward step by step.
This was a path he and Shen Nian had walked many times before.
When he reached a certain building, Lu Lingchuan stopped in his tracks.
The cold wind whipped around him, making his coat flutter and tousling his short hair.
Lu Lingchuan stood there with his hands in his pockets, slowly raising his head to count the floors from bottom to top.
Then, he found the floor he was looking for.
The lights were on in the apartments above, below, and to the sides, but the one in the middle remained dark.
Among the sea of lights in countless homes, the light in his and Shen Nian's apartment had gone out.
Lu Lingchuan didn't know how long he stood there in the wind until he felt his face grow numb. Only then did he slowly lower his head.
Instead of going up, he turned and left.
The security guards at the complex entrance had been working there for years and naturally recognized the residents.
Seeing Lu Lingchuan come out again, the guard on duty in the lobby was surprised and casually asked, "Heading out again so late?"
"Mm," Lu Lingchuan responded noncommittally, with no intention of saying more.
"You young people are so busy these days, going on business trips for days or even weeks at a time. Just the other day, I saw little Nian leaving with a suitcase. Seemed like she was off on a business trip or something?"
Every time the guard opened the door for Shen Nian when she returned, she would politely nod and greet him, so he knew her and had a particularly good impression of her.
"..." Hearing this, Lu Lingchuan's steps faltered for a moment before he continued on his way.
...
Lu Lingchuan returned to the Lu family home. He hadn't been back since Li Mingshi had fallen ill and been hospitalized.
As he entered, he noticed the lights were on downstairs and furrowed his brow.
Who would be up at this hour?
Just as Lu Lingchuan was about to go upstairs, Auntie Xu came down. She was surprised to see him.
"Lingchuan? Weren't you on a business trip? Why are you back?"
"Auntie Xu," Lu Lingchuan greeted her, then asked, "Why are you here?"
Auntie Xu pointed to several suitcases next to the living room downstairs. "The master is at the hospital now, so I took this opportunity to come back and get some thick clothes and a warm quilt for the madam. The hospital has blankets, but they're not as comfortable."
"Mm." Lu Lingchuan acknowledged, then asked, "How is my mother doing?"
Auntie Xu smiled. "She's much better now, don't worry. I'm taking care of her at the hospital."
Noticing the weariness around Lu Lingchuan's eyes, Auntie Xu said with concern, "You have dark circles under your eyes. Haven't been sleeping well these past few days, have you? It's late now, I need to get back to the hospital soon. You should get some rest."
"Alright."
As Auntie Xu went to get the suitcases, she noticed something on the table and quickly called out to Lu Lingchuan, who was heading upstairs.
"Lingchuan."
Lu Lingchuan stopped and turned his head.
Auntie Xu picked up an envelope from the table and brought it to him. "I found this at the door when I came back today. It looks like a package for you. I saw your name written on it."
Lu Lingchuan took the package from Auntie Xu. Sure enough, the shipping label had his name and the Lu family address on it.
"Thank you."
Lu Lingchuan said, then took the envelope upstairs.
Back in his room, he took off his coat and draped it over a nearby chair. He tore open the envelope to find another envelope inside.
When his fingers touched the white paper, he paused.
Then, like a slow-moving elderly person, he gradually pulled out the envelope.
It was a letter from Shen Nian.
He opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.
Like him, Shen Nian had written only two words on the paper.
[No regrets.]
Having experienced a brief moment of sweetness, she had no regrets.
...
The next morning, after an early meeting, Shen Nian headed back to her desk. She walked while looking down at some documents, passing by a few employees who were whispering among themselves.
"I just saw the boss's wife when I went to deliver some files to Mr. Lu."
"Really? I haven't seen her in ages. I thought she and Mr. Lu had broken up."
"How could they break up? Miss Liang is so beautiful and comes from a good family. She and Mr. Lu are a perfect match, don't you think?"
"That's true..."
As the employees passed by Shen Nian discussing this, her steps faltered.
The boss's wife... Liang Jinghe.
Lu Lingchuan was back together with Liang Jinghe.
She lowered her gaze, lost in thought for a moment. But after just three seconds, Shen Nian raised her head again and continued walking to her desk.
When she returned, there was already a mountain of files on her desk. The director who had just placed them there saw Shen Nian coming back and immediately called out, "Assistant Shen, you're back from the meeting."
"Mm," Shen Nian responded.
"Good timing. Let me brief you. The top five files need to be reviewed by you. The black folders underneath contain the information you requested; I've already sorted and categorized them. The white files at the bottom need Mr. Lu's signature. It's urgent—we couldn't get them signed while Mr. Lu was away on his business trip, so it's been delayed until now. Now that Mr. Lu is back, we need to get these signed right away to avoid any further impact."
Shen Nian glanced at the files and mentally went through the director's instructions before nodding. "I understand."
"Alright then, carry on."
"Mm."
Sitting down, she first went through the files that needed her review. After confirming there were no issues, she signed them and put the black folders with the information she needed in a file organizer within easy reach.
Finally, there were the documents that needed Lu Lingchuan's signature.
Her gaze fell on the white folder. Without a word, she simply picked up the files and headed towards Lu Lingchuan's office.
She knocked on the door—"tap, tap, tap"—and only pushed it open after hearing the man inside say "Come in."
Liang Jinghe was sitting on the couch, drinking red tea. Seeing Shen Nian, she curled her lips into a slight smile and nodded at her.
Shen Nian's face remained expressionless, but she nodded back before walking towards Lu Lingchuan.
"Mr. Lu, these files need your signature."
"Bring them here," Lu Lingchuan said without looking up.
Shen Nian placed the documents on the desk. As Lu Lingchuan saw the new files before him, he set aside the work he had been doing. Opening the folder, he carefully went through the project terms. Only after ensuring everything was in order did he sign the documents, repeating the process for the other files as well.
Once he had finished signing, he pushed the documents aside and resumed his previous work.
He hadn't given Shen Nian a hard time, but neither had they engaged in any unnecessary conversation throughout the entire process.